The Rheged Centre :

Named after the Ancient Kingdom of the Dark Ages, Rheged is one of the largest visitor attraction ever to open in Cumbria.

Rheged is an all weather, all year round visitor centre of national importance. Situated in Britain’s largest grass covered building, Rheged’s centrepiece is a six storey high cinema screen, the biggest 3D cinema screen in the northwest, featuring a dramatic journey back in time through 2,000 years of Cumbria’s history and mystery as well as selected films of interest.

Rheged provides an inspiring choice for group visits, an exceptional educational resource and a refreshingly different venue for corporate hospitality, product launches and conferences.

An unusually quiet Rheged Centre. Aerial photo by Simon Ledingham

There are a selection of cafes offering fresh food with a distinct Cumbrian flavour made using the best local ingredients, including lamb and beef from Rheged’s farm. 9 individual shops within Rheged aim to include the best of the region, its activities, crafts people and food producers, and offer a varied collection of gift ideas both from Cumbria and further afield.

For families, there is an indoor and good outdoor play area and a varied programme of really quite good and imaginative children’s events throughout the school holidays from Mad Science to children’s theatre and hands on workshops.

For more information see Visit Cumbria’s What’s On section where Rheged usually list their events.

Outdoor play area at the Rheged Centre, Penrith

Free entry and ample free parking

There is also quite a useful service station as you enter Rheged which has reasonably priced fuel and a shop which is quite decent for its type. Not bad coffee.